As I took on more leadership positions, I realized fundraising issues and needs frustrated all leaders.

These were basic systemic and organizational challenges, but no one ever addressed them. Something was wrong.

By God’s grace, I stumbled into the fundraising practices of six Bible leaders, looking at well-known Bible stories through a different lens: money.

To this day I continue to discover new insights about how they dealt with funding issues.

Here’s what I learned about fundraising from six major Bible leaders:

Moses

In his vision to build a godly nation, fundraising played a surprising role. His potential donors had no real jobs and they had already given to The Golden Calf Project. Time on the mountain with God taught him that fundraising is not a necessary evil.

Joash

This young and inexperienced King of Judah wanted to rebuild the temple, but delegating the task to professional fundraisers failed. So he fired them and took a simple fundraising action step, and it worked.

Hezekiah

His people were not supporting the Levites as God had commanded, and Judah was under threat from Assyria. Deliberately overlooking Assyria, he focused on fully funding his workers.

The nation experienced a resurgence of devotion to God.

Nehemiah

While in captivity in Persia (present-day Iraq), he was saddened by the broken down wall and the spiritual decline of the Jewish people 700 miles away in Jerusalem.

Books have been written about Nehemiah’s leadership skills, but the key to his leadership success is usually never mentioned—a risky fundraising encounter.

David

At the prime of his life as king, David made huge mistakes.

He was passed over as builder of the new temple, but did not resign himself to despair. In his final leadership role David modeled a trait that leaders must practice today.

Paul the Apostle

He was not silent about money. Digging through his ministry, we find examples of how he cared for the funding of his co-workers.

We also find he taught that giving is part of discipleship, not an optional add-on.

These six biblical men continue to guide me. They help me lead more effectively both in money and in non-money issues. I urge you to study them well.